The wife and I are going to take a drive to the CMP South store in early Nov to pick out a Service Grade Garand to add to my collection of 20th century American battle rifles. My question is what should I be looking for? I am not interested in finding that rare piece (although that would be great) I just want a serviceable example of one of the greatest fighting rifles in history. I will be firing this weapon so its not going to be a safe queen any input would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
Al

The staff is uber helpful. You simply give them your driver's license and they let you borrow a muzzle/chamber gauge. Drop it in every muzzle you want and find the Garand for 'you'.

Mine had rough...er, CHARACTER wood but gauged at 1.5. It has been a fantastic shooter.

I simply ask that you do one thing after taking your Garand home. Whenever you go to the range and happen to see a kid shooting with their parent(s), offer to let them put a clip through it. It's one of the most rewarding things you can do at the range. Let them keep the clip as a souvenir.

My recommendation is to get a Service Grade rifle with the lowest throat & muzzle wear you can find. The Service Grades truly represent the best value in my opinion, and they can still have a very nice finish.

Beyond that, it's just personal preference. Do you want a Springfield or H&R rifle? USGI or new CMP wood? It's still possible to find WWII serial numbers on the SG Springfields as well.

My recommendation is to get a Service Grade rifle with the lowest throat & muzzle wear you can find. The Service Grades truly represent the best value in my opinion, and they can still have a very nice finish.

is that one of the new production stocks on your service grade or is that really the condition of their USGI stocks?

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ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the crap people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin
Bean counters told me I couldn't fire a man for being in a wheelchair, did it anyway. Ramps are expensive.-Cave Johnson.

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ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the crap people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin
Bean counters told me I couldn't fire a man for being in a wheelchair, did it anyway. Ramps are expensive.-Cave Johnson.

I'm not sure how to explain what I mean, but there shouldn't be a lot of wavy surfaces. Grooves and rails should be straight and smooth. You can rebarrel but you can't really replace the receiver. (If you could, you should just keep it on the other rifle...it'd be like keeping the mast and replacing the rest of the sailboat)

Since we're showing off pretty Service Grades, here's mine to hopefully get you excited about your trip to Anniston. I received her via mail-order from the CMP in June.

She's a 1944 Springfield Armory with a like-new 1954 Springfield barrel (with some incredible muzzle/throat wear numbers), and a beautiful CMP black walnut stock. She runs like a dream. Shooting a Garand is like no other firearm.

Just remember when looking at the pics of other peoples service grade rifles, the ones with new walnut stocks generally cost a whole lot more than the new birch stocks. If you want a shooter, a service grade with a birch stock for $625 or whatever the current price is, is a better deal than $950 for a service grade special with a walnut stock.

Hope you enjoy the trip. I had a great time on my trip to the north store.

Aside from overall condition and throat/muzzle wear, there are a few additional things to look for . . .

Sight. Be sure the rear aperture is firm - no "wiggle" - and both windage and elevation work OK.

I've read that sometimes - rarely - a rifle with a lockbar rear sight shows up; these are sought after.

Aside from condition, Springfield Armory rifles with higher serial numbers are said to exhibit the best workmanship. The CMP just sold a batch in the 6,xxx,xxx range; the 5,9xx,xxx is next most desirable, and so forth and so on. They'll have been rebuilt at least once, though, so they won't have all original parts. So condition is more important than serial number. (And of course, some people want a WWII, not a post-war, rifle.)

Enjoy - I've got three CMP M1s and they're a lot of fun.

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To be kind to your enemy is to be cruel to yourself - Sun Tzu

Which type/length of bayonet was the most common on the M-1 in most WW2 combat theaters?
Also, is there a good website which depicts the average market price for a specific length, assuming that 'fake' repros were not produced?

An authentic version probably wouldn't look new anyway, but I would not want a "Mitchell's Mauser" type of fake, if you know what I mean.

Just remember when looking at the pics of other peoples service grade rifles, the ones with new walnut stocks generally cost a whole lot more than the new birch stocks. If you want a shooter, a service grade with a birch stock for $625 or whatever the current price is, is a better deal than $950 for a service grade special with a walnut stock.

My Service Grade rifle with a CMP walnut stock (shown above) was $625. It is not a $950 Service Grade Special.

At some point this past spring, the CMP started shipping some Service Grade rifles with CMP walnut. I placed a sticky note on my order form requesting a WWII serial and a walnut stock, and got both.

Noob here throwing up a first post. I have a '55 SA Garand which is a CMP gun. Finish is amazing, and I can pull down less than 3" groups at a little over 100 yds. It is in collecter grade condition with all date coded parts. The Garand is one of the few guns that will retain/gain value even if you shoot it. No matter what you get, go out and enjoy. As previously stated, there is nothing like shooting one. When I get home from my deployment, I am going to make a trip to Anniston and pick up another one and some more ammo.

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